Henry Sy is PH richest for 10th straight year: Forbes

Filipino-Chinese mall tycoon Henry Sy is the Philippines’ richest man for the 10th year in a row, as captains of the country’s top conglomerates benefited from robust economic growth, according to rankings released by Forbes Magazine on Thursday.

The net worth of Sy, who parlayed his SM Mall business into real estate and banking, grew to $18 billion from $13.7 billion. He was the biggest gainer in dollar terms on the list, according to Forbes.

Sy recently entrusted the chairmanship of SM Investments to his long-time CFO, Jose Sio, shaking up the line succession in the mostly family-run conglomerate that also includes the country’s largest lender, BDO Unibank.

Tycoon John Gokongwei Jr. of JG summit was second, even as his net worth declined to $5.5 billion from $6.8 billion, the magazine said. Gokongwei’s group controls the country’s largest airline, Cebu Pacific, Robinsons Mall and Robinsons Land.

Port magnate Enrique Razon zoomed up 5 places on the list to third richest, after his net worth grew $800 million to $4.3 billion, the magazine said. His Solaire Casino has been sustaining a turnaround from a net loss last year.

Seven of the 10 biggest dollar gainers have interests in construction and property, including DMCI chairman David Consunji who placed 6th and San Miguel Corp President Ramon Ang, who is tenth on the list.

Aside from infrastructure, Ang is growing his Eagle Cement business, which listed shares on the stock exchange earlier this year. He also recently agreed to buy a majority stake in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Half of the country’s top 50 tycoons saw their net worth fall, with lethargic trading in the stock market and the peso slumping against the dollar. Taipan Lucio Tan held at 4th place with $4.2 billion, with his tobacco business under threat from a nationwide smoking ban.

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